Chapter 13: The Man Who Refused to Die
No one spoke for several seconds.
The words on the monitor defied everything Theodore believed.
BIOLOGICALLY DECEASED
CONSCIOUSNESS: ACTIVE
The old man seated in the center capsule had no heartbeat.
No measurable respiration.
Every medical indicator should have declared him dead decades ago.
Yet the neural display surrounding the chair pulsed with perfect rhythm.
Grant finally broke the silence.
"...That's impossible."
Alexander looked at the image without surprise.
"It should be."
"But it isn't."
Sebastian slowly sat down.
For the first time since Theodore had known him, the older man looked tired.
Not physically.
Spiritually.
"I was twenty-two when I found that chamber."
He looked toward Theodore.
"I thought Grandfather had lost his mind."
"I destroyed what I could."
"I sealed the vault."
"I believed..."
"...he was finally gone."
Alexander quietly added,
"He wasn't."
Theodore couldn't take his eyes off the monitor.
"You're telling me..."
"...he's still alive?"
Alexander answered carefully.
"No."
"The man in that chair died twenty-two years ago."
"Then who..."
"The memories didn't."
Grant rubbed his forehead.
"I feel like everyone keeps changing the definition of death."
Alexander gave a faint smile.
"That's exactly what frightened Sebastian."
A secure satellite phone rang.
No caller ID.
Sebastian looked at the screen.
His expression hardened.
"The Curator."
He answered.
"Speak."
Her calm voice filled the room.
"You've opened the vault."
"No."
"You did."
Sebastian frowned.
"I haven't been near the estate."
"You misunderstand."
She paused.
"Theodore opened it."
Every eye turned toward Theodore.
"I've never been there."
The Curator replied,
"Blood doesn't require permission."
She continued.
"For seventy years, the Archive has waited for the final genetic signature."
"Theodore's survival completed the sequence."
Grant interrupted.
"What do you want?"
The Curator answered instantly.
"Come home."
The line disconnected.
Meanwhile...
Rosalie and Emma emerged from the maintenance tunnels into a dense forest.
Night air hit Rosalie's face for the first time in days.
She inhaled deeply.
"We made it."
Emma didn't answer.
She was staring toward the trees.
"What?"
Emma whispered,
"They're already here."
Black SUVs appeared between the pines.
Silent.
Headlights off.
Doors opened.
Masked operatives stepped out.
Rosalie grabbed Emma's hand.
"Run!"
They sprinted deeper into the forest.
Branches whipped across their faces.
Mud slowed every step.
Behind them...
No shouting.
No gunfire.
The operatives walked.
Patiently.
As though they already knew exactly where the chase would end.
Back in Manhattan...
Grant spread the blueprint of the Vale Estate across the table.
"If the Archive is real..."
"...we need to reach it before White Raven."
Sebastian shook his head.
"They're already there."
Alexander corrected him.
"No."
"They're waiting."
"For what?" Theodore asked.
Alexander looked directly at him.
"You."
Grant folded the blueprint.
"Then Theodore stays as far away from that estate as possible."
Sebastian agreed immediately.
"I won't let him go."
Alexander sighed.
"You don't have a choice."
Before anyone could respond...
Sarah suddenly gasped.
Her pupils dilated.
She grabbed the side of the table.
Images flooded her mind.
Children.
White hallways.
Fire.
Edward Vale.
Then...
One memory stood above all the others.
A nursery.
Two newborn babies.
One bracelet read:
ALEXANDER VALE
The other...
THEODORE VALE
Sarah looked up in horror.
"No..."
The room fell silent.
Theodore frowned.
"What?"
Sarah struggled to breathe.
"I remember..."
Sebastian stepped forward.
"Sarah."
She ignored him.
"There weren't two brothers."
She looked directly at Theodore.
"There were..."
"...three."
Nobody moved.
Alexander's face slowly lost all color.
"What did you say?"
Sarah repeated it.
"There were three babies."
Sebastian whispered,
"That's impossible."
Sarah shook her head violently.
"No."
"I can see it."
"The laboratory."
"The nursery."
"The bracelets."
She clutched her head.
"They separated them."
Alexander grabbed the edge of the table.
"Who?"
Sarah looked at him with terrified eyes.
"Edward."
The room became completely silent.
Theodore felt his pulse pounding in his ears.
"I'm one of the babies?"
Sarah nodded slowly.
"Yes."
Grant looked toward Sebastian.
"You knew?"
Sebastian answered honestly.
"No."
Alexander whispered,
"I always wondered..."
He stopped.
"My mother told me there had been another child."
"No one believed her."
Theodore felt the ground disappear beneath him.
Everything he believed about his family had collapsed.
Before he could speak...
Grant's laptop emitted a loud alert.
A satellite image appeared automatically.
The Vale Estate.
Infrared overlays highlighted dozens of heat signatures.
Not dozens.
Hundreds.
Vehicles were converging on the property from every direction.
Private helicopters.
Armored convoys.
Boats approaching from the river.
The Curator wasn't preparing for a defense.
She was preparing for a gathering.
A message appeared across the bottom of the satellite feed:
THE SUCCESSION CEREMONY
06:00 A.M.
Current time:
04:17 A.M.
Less than two hours remained.
Then a second notification appeared.
Facial recognition detected a new arrival entering the underground vault.
The image sharpened.
Theodore's breath caught.
The man walking toward Edward Vale's chair...
...looked exactly like Theodore.
Not similar.
Not related.
Exactly the same.
The only difference was the expression.
Where Theodore's face showed confusion...
The stranger wore a calm, knowing smile.
May you like
Alexander whispered the only words anyone could manage:
"They already have him."
